The fishing has been pretty good lately, with the standout being the redfin. They’re cruising around in huge schools in Burrendong and Carcoar, and have been biting their heads off.

All you need to catch them is a cheap lure – anything that’s shiny. Little Celtas are good, as well as tiny little hardbodies in gold or silver (even black will work) that dive anywhere from 3-7m. Vibes with rattles are great too; we’ve caught loads of redfin on Jackall TN 50s and TN 60s in the spawning tiger colour. Other good options are small spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and any type of metal blade that is black or gold or silver in the 50-60mm size range.

It’s so easy to get kids into fishing if you target redfin at this time of year because you can buy a cheap lure and catch 100 redfin. We’ve caught 100 in less than an hour for the two of us. It’s crazy fun for the kids, and will get them addicted to fishing in no time. The average size at the moment is 25cm, but we’ve been getting quite a few in the mid 30s. They’re great on the plate.

Water temperatures have been rising, reaching 27-30°C in some places. This has caused the yellowbelly to seek refuge in deeper water. You can target them with a deep diver that gets down to 5-7m, such as an Oar-Gee Plow. Lipless crankbaits like TN 60s have also been catching their share.

The Murray cod in the western rivers have been going great. The Lachlan River between Cowra and Condobolin has been yielding plenty of cod. Most are undersize rats, although there are reports of a few specimens over 80cm. It’s the same story in the Macquarie River from Wellington to Warren.

Lure fishers and bait fishers are getting similar numbers of cod. A lot of the bigger cod are being caught on lures, but it takes longer to get a bite when you’re casting or trolling lures than if you’re using bait. Still, if you’re prepared to spend the time using lures you’ll have a much better chance of getting a bigger fish. The biggest caught in the Macquarie recently was a 108cm caught on a Native Lure spinnerbait. Other effective lures have been Oar-Gee Plows, spinnerbaits, Gobsmacked surface lures (FrogWalker, Leviathan and Rattlesnake) and Native Lures custom buzzbaits. When it comes to colours, natural greens and browns have been working the best, followed by black.

FISHING IN FEBRUARY

All the natives will be out into the deeper water this month. If you’re targeting yellowbelly or Murray cod, you should be fishing in depths around 5-10m.

The redfin will still be going crazy. They will be found anywhere between 2-7m. They just don’t care! The best time to fish for them is on a sunny day, and there should be plenty of those this month.

For the latest info on where the fish are biting and what you need to catch them, drop into Tackle World Orange at Unit 1, 66 Peisley St. The staff have over 40 years of fishing experience, and the store stocks a wide range of products for both experts and beginners. Come in for a friendly chat, give them a call on 02 6361 8924 or look them up on Facebook.

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Tracy Mclean with a redfin that took a 4” Gulp Turtleback Worm in watermelon. She went on to catch around 30 fish in one hour.